Four Dutch universities, led by Erasmus University of Rotterdam (EUR), rank in the Top 150 in the world in terms of the employability of their graduates, according to the recently released 2012 New York Times Global Employability Survey.
More than 2.500 recruiters and about 2.200 international chief executives and business managers were asked to name their top universities based on the employability of their graduates, regardless of their course of study.
Perhaps not surprisingly, US schools dominated the list, occupying 52 of the 150 slots; Harvard and Yale Universities were ranked first and second, respectively.
On the whole European schools also performed well, with 61 universities ranking in the top 150, including 14 universities in the United Kingdom.
The Netherlands fared reasonably well in the survey, with 4 Dutch universities making it into the Top 150. The highest ranked Dutch university was the Erasmus University of Rotterdam at number 69 (also featured in the Times, QS, and UT Dallas rankings), followed by the University of Groningen (81), TU Delft (86), and TU Eindhoven (100).
Graduate skills & Personal qualities
The survey participants were also asked to characterise their ideal graduates based on their skills and personal qualities.
Aside from English, they considered Chinese to be the most valuable second language, followed by French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Arabic, Italian, Russian and Portuguese, in that order.
Regarding personal qualities, the survey found that international recruiters appreciate adaptability, communication skills, and the "ability to work in a team" more so than leadership qualities or "the ability to work under pressure."
The survey participants were chosen from top companies in the following countries: Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the US.
The online survey was compiled by Emerging, a human resources consultancy based in Paris, and Trendence, an institute that researches employer branding, personal marketing, and recruitment.
You can view the full top 150 universities here.